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Throughout their careers, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin players had to prove themselves at various levels and tryout for a team or two. Not every tryout went their way and the experience often provided a learning lesson that would be applied throughout their careers. Each week we’ll ask a Penguin player to look back at some of their tryouts over the years and what they learned from the experience.
Player: Tom Kostopoulos
Age: 36
Years pro: 16
What was the first team you had to try out for and what was the experience like: “The first team I played for I wanted to be on because my older brother was playing there, but I was too young. I had to wear another kid’s name on my back because I wasn’t supposed to be playing. That was a lot of fun. I was 5-years-old and you had to be six. The next year I got cut. I took it pretty hard. You think at the time that’s all that matters, but in the big picture, you look at the guys in the NHL just about everyone’s been cut from a team and some point. It makes you dig in and work harder.”
Were you ever nervous for a tryout: “My first NHL training camp I went to was in Buffalo. I was undrafted and I didn’t know what to expect. I wore my Toronto Maple Leafs hat there because I was a Leafs fan growing up. The guys were looking at me like I was an idiot.”
Is it different trying out for a team as a pro than when you were a kid: “I feel like in minor hockey when I was growing up a lot of the teams are picked. In pro your training camp is huge. The first couple days there’s guys that can turn heads and make decisions harder for management. Camp is so important. Every single year you’ve got to prove yourself.”
What advice do you have a for a young player trying out for the first time: “Work hard, have fun and if you don’t make it it’s not the end of the world. You’ve got 364 more days to prepare for next year’s tryouts. It’s about the rate you improve.”